Colt Lightning Slide Action Rifle Small Frame (1)

The small frame Lightning rifles in .22 rimfire were Colt's
first small game and plinking arms. sn 29784

Samuel Colt was born in Hartford, Connecticut on July 19, 1814.
He showed an early fascination with science, and during his youth,
Colt studied both chemistry and mechanics. While still a boy, he
attempted to produce a pistol that was capable of firing multiple
shots without reloading, but his efforts were
unsuccessful.

In 1830-31, while the sixteen year-old Colt was serving as a seaman
aboard the brig Corvo, he observed the ship's wheel and the
relationship of the various spokes to the center hub. This inspired
him to make a wooden model of a revolving pistol. Although others
had already experimented with revolvers, Colt's design was the
first to automatically rotate the cylinder when the gun was cocked.
After his return to the United States, he showed his model to his
father, Christopher, and to Henry L. Ellsworth, a friend of the
elder Colt who was then serving as Commissioner at the U.S. Patent
Office in Washington. Both men encouraged Samuel to continue with
his work and to seek a patent for his design.

At this point in his life, Colt had an idea but no money with which
to proceed on his new career path. For the next four years, he
worked the traveling show circuit as "Dr. Coult of Calcutta." His
lectures and demonstration of nitrous oxide to crowds in the U.S.
and Canada provided a source of capital, which was forwarded to
gunsmiths who produced working versions of his firearms designs. In
addition to the money he received, this period in his life also
provided Colt with valuable experience in public speaking,
marketing, and public relations.

At age 20, Colt gave up touring and, with borrowed money, traveled
to Europe to secure English and French patents for his revolving
pistol. Upon his return to the United States in 1836, he also
received a U.S. patent. In March, 1836, Colt formed the Patent Arms
Company and began operation in an unused silk mill along the banks
of the Passaic River in Paterson, New Jersey. His first product was
a ring-lever revolving rifle, available in .34, .36, .38, .40, and
.44 caliber, in which a ring located forward of the trigger served
to cock the hammer and advance the cylinder for each shot. This was
soon followed with a revolving pistol. These five-shot "Paterson"
revolvers featured folding triggers, and were available both with
and without loading levers in .28, .31, and .36 caliber. Patent
Arms also produced smoothbore revolving carbines and
shotguns.

The outbreak of war between the U.S. government and the Seminole
tribe provided Colt with his first break. Seminole warriors had
learned that soldiers were vulnerable while reloading their
single-shot firearms, and they developed a tactic of drawing fire,
then rushing the temporarily defenseless soldiers and wiping them
out before they could fire a second volley. Colt's revolving rifles
were quite effective against this, and the Army purchased his
products for use by troops in the Florida campaign.

Unfortunately for the young inventor and businessman, the Patent
Arms Company went bankrupt and ceased operation in 1842. The
company's assets were sold at auction, and Colt turned his
attention to other areas, including the use of electric current
from galvanic batteries to detonate underwater explosive mines. The
U.S. government was sufficiently interested in this idea that Colt
received funding to continue his work for possible use in harbor
defense. During this period, Colt met Captain Sam Walker of the
Texas Rangers. Walker and his fellow Rangers had experience with
Colt's Paterson revolvers, and one Paterson-armed troop of 15 men
under the command of Jack Hays had successfully charged and
defeated 80 Comanches, then considered to be the finest light
cavalry in the world. Walker believed that an improved version of
the earlier revolver would be an asset on the frontier. The two men
designed a massive 4 pound, 9-ounce .44 caliber six-shot revolver,
and the government ordered 1,000 of them for issue to mounted
troops.

Since Colt no longer had a manufacturing facility, he contracted
with Eli Whitney of Whitneyville, Connecticut, to produce these
guns. This order was completed in 1847, and Colt once again devoted
himself to firearms production. He established a new factory in
Hartford during that same year, and began production of a smaller,
lighter .44 caliber revolver. These so-called "transitional
Walkers" were followed by the First, Second, and Third Model
Dragoon revolvers, as well by as the Baby Dragoon, the Model 1849
Pocket Revolver, and the Model 1851 Navy Revolver. Many of these
guns saw service through the Civil War and beyond.

The discovery of gold in California stimulated the demand for
firearms, and Colt also received orders from Russia and Turkey
during the Crimean War. He expanded his operations to England,
operating a manufacturing plant in London between 1853 and 1857. By
this time, Colt operated the world's largest private armory, and he
had introduced standardized production, division of labor, and
assembly-line mass-production methods to his factory.

In 1855, Colt introduced a spur trigger revolver that featured a
fully-enclosed cylinder. These sidehammer, or "Root" revolvers,
were named for Elisha K. Root, a noted inventor and holder of the
sidehammer patent, who at that time was employed as Colt's factory
superintendent and Chief Engineer. Colt also produced the
sidehammer Model 1855 rifles and carbines for military and sporting
use, as well as a revolving shotgun. In failing health, Colt
expanded his factory on the eve of the Civil War, and began
production of a new, lightweight .44 caliber Army revolver,
followed a year later by a .36 caliber Navy version.

Samuel Colt died in Hartford on January 10, 1862 at the age of 47.
Although he did not see the end of the Civil War, his products
played an important role in its outcome. During the war, the
Hartford factory produced revolvers, as well as the Colt Special
Musket, based on the government's Springfield Rifle-Musket. The
Model 1860 Army revolver was the primary issue revolver for U.S.
troops, while other Colt revolvers were acquired through private
purchase. The Colt Special Musket was issued to state troops, and
the Model 1855 Revolving Rifle saw service with both Union infantry
and cavalry, as well as with Colonel Hiram Berdan's United States
Sharp Shooters.

Colt firearms have continued to play a significant role in
America's history. The post-Civil War period brought with it a
variety of metallic cartridge revolvers, including conversions of
percussion arms. Perhaps the most famous of these is the Single
Action Army revolver, often known popularly as the "Peacemaker,"
which saw widespread use in the hands of soldiers, settlers,
gunslingers, and peace officers. Colt also produced a variety of
other handguns, ranging from their deringer models to a line of .44
and .45 double-action revolvers. The slide-action Lightning rifles
competed for a place in the market dominated by Winchester's
lever-action models.

In the 20th century, Colt-produced arms have served with U.S. and
foreign forces in two World Wars, as well as a variety of limited
conflicts. The John Browning-designed M1911 semi-automatic pistol
is still in use after more than 70 years, and Colt machine guns,
also designed by Browning and manufactured under license, saw use
in everything from infantry positions to armored vehicles,
aircraft, and ships. The Hartford-based company, now a division of
C.F. Holding Corporation, also produces the M16 battle rifle that
is currently used by both U.S. and foreign military forces. In
addition to military sales, Colt's revolvers, and the company's
semi-automatic pistols and rifles are popular with law enforcement
agencies and with competitive and recreational shooters.